Devotion
by The Dark Knight's Revenge
Summary: The gang is captured by the Cabal and tortured for information concerning the sanctuary and its recent research. Is Helen willing to pay the ultimate price to keep her life's work a secret? Can Will, Henry and Ashley survive the repercussions?


"Will!" Magnus found herself screaming as she watched her prodigy stabbed over and over, the blood gushing from between his lips. From somewhere behind her, she could hear Ashley and Henry yelling as well.

Will collapsed to the ground, and even from her position across the room Magnus could see his blood-soaked chest heaving for breath.

"Will! No!" She screamed again, trying to pull herself to her feet, but failing with a groan of pain. Will's head rolled to the side, fixing her with his blue eyes as he took his last shaky breath. Then he was gone.

* * *

Three hours earlier...

* * *

"I've got a bad feeling about this" Will stated as they made their bumpy way in the truck down a dirt road to a back-country warehouse outside of Chicago.

"Man up" Ashley said from the back, where she was riding with Henry.

"Ashley..." Magnus scolded from the driver's seat. "It's perfectly all right, William. We'll be fine. This is just a pick-up sort of thing"

How wrong she was.

When they reached the warehouse, it was immediately obvious that things hadn't gone as planned. The main loading door had been torn off its hinges and was resting in the gravel a few feet away. Smoke billowed from the back of the building. Men's bodies could be seen inside the door.

"My god" Magnus said, pulling to a stop and immediately getting out. Ashley and Henry followed suit, pulling out the weapons case they had brought.

Will got out of the truck reluctantly, the feeling of dread in his stomach growing.

The scientists each took a weapon and a handful of cartridges, falling into formation as they approached the warehouse. Inside lay the bodies of four men, their blood slicking the cement floor.

"What happened here?" Magnus asked quietly. No one replied as they ventured deeper indoors, guns raised.

"Do you think the abnormal got out and killed these people?" Henry asked after a few minutes. The warehouse was completely deserted. Magnus walked back to the bodies.

"I don't think so, Henry... These wounds, they look almost like-"

"Bullets" Will finished, squatting down and picking up a cartridge shell.

"Aw, hell" Henry said.

"Let's get out of here" Ashley said, backing up towards the door. "Someone who shoots people and steals abnormals is not our friend"

Henry and Ashley left the building, guns raised. Suddenly, a cry of pain echoed from the way they went. Will rushed after, immediately getting shot with a tranquilizer and dropping like a stone.

Soldiers filed in, and Magnus raised her hands, dropping her gun. A deep laugh resounded around the warehouse, and a familiar african-american stepped into view.

"Well, well... Helen Magnus. We meet again" The military leader of the Cabal chuckled before stepping forwards and clubbing her over the head with the butt of his pistol.

As Magnus crumpled, the Cabal leader turned to the assembled soldiers.

"Pack them all up, they're in for a fun trip where we're going"

* * *

When Magnus awoke, she was laying on a cold cement floor, shivering. It was pitch black. She wiggled all her fingers and toes, finding that she hadn't been bound. Reaching her hands out in front of her, she began to crawl forwards, looking for the wall.

As her hands made contact with more cold cement, she slowly stood and began to inch her way around the room, finding it bigger than she had originally thought. Racking her brain for a solution, Magnus struck out to the middle of the room, only to trip on a body.

"Ooof" The body said, groaning in pain.

"Will?" Magnus called, feeling her way back until her hands met fabric.

"Magnus?" Will asked, grasping her hand. "You're freezing" Without hesitation, he pulled her close to him, sharing his body heat. Magnus' shivering ceased.

"What the hell happened?" Will asked after a minute.

"It was the Cabal, which isn't really a surprise" Magnus replied. Will grunted in disgust.

A sudden clanging startled the two, and a door opened to their left, light pouring in. Will held up a hand to shield his eyes.

"Come with us" A voice said, and then they were picked up roughly by the arms and dragged away by a pair of soldiers each.


End file.
